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January 20: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – January 20 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 20th Jan 1265: For the first time Parliament of England was summoned other than by Royal Command. It was summoned by the Earl of Leicester Simon de Montfort and the parliament met in Westminster Hall.
2. 20th Jan 1320: Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek became the King of Poland on this day.
3. 20th Jan 1502: Rio de Janeiro was first explored on this day.
4. 20th Jan 1503: On this day Spain founded the Board of Trade “Casa Contratacion” to deal with American affairs.
5. 20th Jan 1513: This day Christian II succeeded John I as King of Denmark and Norway.
6. 20th Jan 1523: After being King of Denmark and Norway for ten years Christian II was forced to abdicate of King of Denmark and Norway.
7. 20th Jan 1576: By order of the viceroy Don Martin Enrtín Enríquez de Almansa the Mexican city of León was founded on this day.
8. 20th Jan 1648: This day marks the laying of the cornerstone for the town hall of the city of Amsterdam.
9. 20th Jan 1667: Twenty years of war between Russia and Poland came to an end with the Treaty of Andrussovo.
18th Century – What Happened on January 20 – The 1700s
10. 20th Jan 1778: On this day in the City of Cambridge in Massachusetts, the trial begins for the first American Military court martial.
19th Century – January 20 This Day That Year – The 1800s
11. 20th Jan 1801: John Marshall was appointed as chief justice on this day.
12. 20th Jan 1807: French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte convenes the great council “Sanhedrin” in Paris on this day.
13. 20th Jan 1809: William Maclure published the first book on geology in the US on this day.
14. 20th Jan 1840: On this day the coronation of Dutch King Willem II took place.
15. 20th Jan 1841: On this day during the 1st Opium War China gave up control of Hong Kong to the British.
16. 20th Jan 1850: The first ship to effect the Northwest Passage “Investigator” leaves England on this day.
17. 20th Jan 1868: The constitutional convention of Florida meets in Tallahassee on this day.
18. 20th Jan 1869: On this day women’s rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton testified before the US Congress. She became the first woman to testify before the US Congress.
19. 20th Jan 1870: On this day the ship “City of Boston” disappeared at sea with all 177 on board.
20. 20th Jan 1872: On this day the Stock Exchange Board of California was organized.
21. 20th Jan 1887: The naval base lease of Pearl Harbor was approved on this day by the US Senate.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day January 20th – The 1900s
22. 20th Jan 1914: The first group of women satyagrahis was released from Pietermaritzburg Prison on this day three months after their imprisonment in South Africa.
23. 20th Jan 1920: On this day the American Civil Liberties Union was founded.
24. 20th Jan 1921: On this day Turkey declared remnants of the Ottoman Empire.
25. 20th Jan 1921: On this day British submarine HMS K5 which was equipped with steam turbines sank during exercises in the Bay of Biscay.
26. 20th Jan 1921: In the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Mountain Autonomous Republic was established on this day.
27. 20th Jan 1925: Russia and Japan resume relations by signing a convention. Russia agreed to limit the revolutionary activity of the Third Communist International. Japan on its part agreed to vacate Sakhalin.
28. 20th Jan 1926: Marks the beginning of the second German of the Luther.
29. 20th Jan 1929: On this day the first outdoor shooting of a feature talking motion picture “In Old Arizona” took place.
30. 20th Jan 1934: Japan deploys the services of Henry Pu Yi as regent to the emperor of Manchuria.
31. 20th Jan 1936: On this day British King George V was succeeded by Edward VIII.
32. 20th Jan 1937: California records record lowest temperature of -43°C or -45°F.
33. 20th Jan 1937: Franklin D Roosevelt was inaugurated for his second term in office on this day.
34. 20th Jan 1937: For the first time the Presidential Inauguration Day was held on 20th Jan. It used to be held on 4th March.
35. 20th Jan 1941: Franklin D Roosevelt was inaugurated as US President for the third term on this day.
36. 20th Jan 1942: On this day Japanese forces Invade Burma.
37. 20th Jan 1942: The notorious Wannsee conference was held by the Nazi officials to organize a “final solution” for the extermination of Jews in Europe.
38. 20th Jan 1943: An attempt to retake the land liberated by Tito’s partisans was made by launching Operation Weiss by German, Italian, Bulgarian, and Croatian troops.
39. 20th Jan 1944: Berlin was bombed by the Royal Air Force. They dropped 2300 tons of bombs on Berlin.
40. 20th Jan 1945: The 32nd US President Franklin D Roosevelt was on this day sworn in for an unprecedented 4th term as US President.
41. 20th Jan 1945: An armistice was concluded by the provisional Hungarian Provisional Government with the USSR, US, and Britain. It agreed to pay reparations and join the war against Germany.
42. 20th Jan 1947: On this day Brigadier General Edwin K Wright of USA took over as the deputy director of CIA.
43. 20th Jan 1949: A four-point program was announced by US President Harry Truman on this day.
44. 20th Jan 1950: On this day Surinam became an independent part of the realm of the Netherlands.
45. 20th Jan 1952: Ismailiuya, Suez Canal Zone was occupied this day by the British Army.
46. 20th Jan 1953: The first telecast from the US was transmitted to Canada from Buffalo New York on this day.
47. 20th Jan 1953: On this day US President Eisenhower delivered the first coast-to-coast Inaugural Address.
48. 20th Jan 1954: The lowest temperature in the US was recorded on this day at Roger Pass, Montana. The temperature was -57°C or -70°F.
49. 20th Jan 1954: On this day the National Negro Network was established with 40 charter member radio stations.
50. 20th Jan 1955: USS Nautilus the first nuclear-powered submarine was launched at Groton, Connecticut.
51. 20th Jan 1957: Poland’s preliminary elections were won on this day by Gomulka.
52. 20th Jan 1958: On this day President of the United States Eisenhower spoke out against excessive wage hikes and price hikes.
53. 20th Jan 1968: On this day a group attempting the surface crossing of the Antarctic joined up at the South Pole.
54. 20th Jan 1960: Belgian Congo sentenced Patrice Lumumba to 6 months on this day.
55. 20th Jan 1961: John F Kennedy a Democrat was inaugurated as President of the United States. He was the youngest to be sworn in as US President.
56. 20th Jan 1965: It was proposed on this day by the US Jet Propulsion Laboratory to modify the Apollo flight to fly around Mars and return.
57. 20th Jan 1965: On this day the Dictator of Spain Francisco Franco met with Jewish representatives to discuss legitimizing Jewish Communities in Spain.
58. 20th Jan 1968: Peggy Fleming won the US female Figure Skating championship.
59. 20th Jan 1968: Tim Wood won the US male Figure Skating championship.
60. 20th Jan 1969: On this day Richard M Nixon was inaugurated as President of the United States of America.
61. 20th Jan 1971: A New 1000m skating world record was established on this day when Ard Schenk skated the distance in 1:18.8.
62. 20th Jan 1972: On this day the meeting between the six oil exporting countries and Western oil companies concluded with an agreement to raise the price of crude.
63. 20th Jan 1972: The number of unemployed people claiming unemployment benefits in the UK rose to 1 million.
64. 20th Jan 1972: President Nixon on this day approved the bill advocating disclosure of election financing of anyone running for federal political office.
65. 20th Jan 1973: There was a car bomb explosion in Sackville Place, Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. The explosion killed one and injured 17 others.
66. 20th Jan 1977: On this day George H W Bush’s term as 11th director of CIA came to an end.
67. 20th Jan 1977: Mr Knoche takes over as acting director of CIA.
68. 20th Jan 1979: On this day about a million Iranians march in Tehran in a show of support to their exiled, fundamentalist muslin leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
69. 20th Jan 1980: US boycotts Moscow Olympics. President Jimmy Carter announced on this day the US boycott of the Olympics in Moscow.
70. 20th Jan 1980: There was a bullfighting accident on this day. The bleachers at the site of the bullfighting ring had killed 222 people. Poor construction and overcrowding were blamed.
71. 20th Jan 1980: Linda Frantianne wins the US female Figure skating championship.
72. 20th Jan 1980: Charles Tickner wins the US male Figure skating championship.
73. 20th Jan 1981: On this day Iran freed 52 American hostages who were held in Iran for 444 days.
74. 20th Jan 1981: President Ronald Regan was on this day inaugurated as the 40th President of the US.
75. 20th Jan 1982: The constitution of Honduras becomes effective from this day.
76. 20th Jan 1982: Yasser Arafat was elected on this day as the President of the Palestinian National Council. He polled 88% of the popular votes.
77. 20th Jan 1984: Rosalynn Sumners wins the US female Figure skating championship on this day.
78. 20th Jan 1985: Chicago records lowes temperatures. It recorded -33°C or -27°F.
79. 20th Jan 1986: This day was a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
80. 20th Jan 1987: Terry Waite a special envoy of the archbishop of Canterbury went missing while attempting to win freedom for Western hostages held in Lebanon. He was released by his Shite Muslim kidnappers four years later.
81. 20th Jan 1987: An Islamic militia group takes Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite hostage in Beirut, Lebanon.
82. 20th Jan 1987: Bank robber Robert A Litchfield was arrested on this day at Lake Tahoe.
83. 20th Jan 1987: In one of the biggest operations around football stadiums the UK Police crackdown on soccer hooligans.
84. 20th Jan 1988: New world record established in 1500 m skating. Andre Hoffman skates 1500 m in 1:52.06.
85. 20th Jan 1988: Hearing on the impeachment of Gov Evan Mecham by the Arizona committee opens on this day.
86. 20th Jan 1989: George Bush was inaugurated on this day as the 41st President of the United States.
87. 20th Jan 1990: On this day the 64th manned mission STS 32 (Columbia 10) returned to earth.
88. 20th Jan 1990: Today was black January. Soviet army in Baku cracked down on Azerbaijani pro-independence demonstrations.
89. 20th Jan 1991: The Government of Sudan imposes Islamic law nationwide on this day, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim North and Christian South.
90. 20th Jan 1993: The 42nd US President was inaugurated as President on this day.
91. 20th Jan 1996: Michelle Kwan became the new US female Figure Skating champion.
92. 20th Jan 1997: On this day Comet Hale-Bopp crosses orbit of Mars.
93. 20th Jan 1999: New government restrictions on Internet use were announced by the China News Service. The restrictions were specifically aimed at Internet cafes.
21st Century – January 20 This Day In History – The 2000s
94. 20th Jan 2001: The EDSA II Revolution ousted President of Philippines Joseph Estrada. He was succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the 14th President of the Philippines.
95. 20th Jan 2002: United States military published photographs showing al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects shackled and masked.
96. 20th Jan 2009: Barack Obama was inaugurated on this day as the 44th President of the United States of America. He also became the first African-American to become President of the US.
97. 20th Jan 2009: Joe Biden takes charge as Vice President of the United States on this day.
98. 20th Jan 2013: In a referendum held in Austria, Austria voted for maintaining compulsory military service.
99. 20th Jan 2014: In one of the worst hacking incidents, credit cards of at least 20 million South Koreans were hacked.
100. 20th Jan 2014: On this day Leaders from around the world attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
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